AFTER decades of suffering sub-par ministers in the past few cabinets, many Malaysians have high hopes for Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s newly sworn-in, near-complete line-up.

While most of the first 13 ministers seem to have hit the ground running, and brought a breath of fresh air with their humble, unassuming ways, one or two appear to be struggling with their reversal of roles, from powerless opposition members to members of the administration entrusted with vast authority.

Many announcements from Putrajaya with regard to ministries have been welcomed so far – the decentralisation of powers from certain ministries to others, the removal and merger of overlapping agencies, the “liberation” of agencies like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission from executive control, to be placed directly under Parliament.

These are reforms – many of which were demanded by civil society and organisations, and even political parties within Barisan Nasional – which were negotiated, discussed, studied and reported on, but rarely acted on by the previous administration.

Despite the naysaying and doubts, the new administration has proven that it takes just a stroke of a pen to accomplish the reforms.

The reshuffling of ministries presents a good opportunity to correct the wrongs of the previous administration, fix bad administrative practices, consolidate overlapping functions, and improve the government’s delivery mechanism, especially those involving cross-ministry cooperation.

For example, the salary range for a minister’s assistants, research staff and media coordinators generally follows a government scale. Some ministers supplement these salaries with their personal contributions, or make use of agencies under them to top up the wages, via appointments or similar arrangements.

This doesn’t fix the problem of low salaries, which leads to the inability to attract capable talent, and only shifts the burden from one government body to another, when they ultimately draw from, or contribute to, the same pool. More competitive salaries go hand in hand with the government’s efforts to combat corruption.

To improve the delivery system, cross-ministry cooperation is important. Certain ministries would work more closely with others. For example, the Foreign and Human Resources Ministries on the issue of migrant workers, or the Health, and Youth and Sports Ministries on the issue of combating smoking.

For these ministries, semi-permanent task forces could be set up, instead of full-blown agencies that only serve to add to the already heavily bureaucratic system. The new administration should also consider using local councils, which serve as a microcosm of a full government.

The functions of agencies, statutory bodies and government-linked companies under each ministry should also be clearly defined, as not only do they overlap in function, but also, mode of operation.

GLCs should function with a view to generate some form of profit, while state agencies serve to facilitate a clear need that cannot be served from within the various departments of a ministry. Statutory bodies serve the purposes of governance of a process, profession or trade. Like ministries themselves, those with no real results or relevance to the political and economic realities of the day should be shut down.

Officers who do not perform should be admonished and removed if necessary. Perhaps then, we will see an improvement in the quality of research and reports done for ministers, which, judging by the schoolbag- and tomato-related remarks in recent weeks, do not seem to realise that Ahmad Maslan is no longer a federal minister.

Replacing the minister is, of course, the most important step, but the enthusiasm and passion to change the system will only go as far as the people who carry out his or her executive will are willing or capable of changing it. – July 4, 2018.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.